Hoosiers star has solid showing in scouting showcase

CHICAGO — Cody Zeller was sitting a table near the gym door at the NBA's Draft Combine when Indiana teammate Victor Oladipo popped in. The two are extremely competitive, and Zeller was basking in the fact that he had run a 3.15 in the sprint at Friday's athletic testing drills at the Harrison Street Athletic Facility.

When told Zeller had been faster, Oladipo gave a defiant glance and said: "I got 3.16. Let's do it again."

Zeller laughed and said, "It's like that every day."

It was that kind of day for Zeller, whose athletic and strength training was outstanding. Not only did Zeller show off his quickness, but he pulled off a standing vertical leap of 35.5 inches, which wowed scouts and went down as the best draft-camp leap for a big man in recent memory.

"I was a little disappointed, actually," Zeller said. "At school, I had like a 38 or a 39 on the max, so, I missed it by a little bit. It's fun to be able to showcase some of that stuff because you can't really show off that on the basketball court. You can't really put a number on that before now."

The Chicago showing should help restore some of Zeller's supposedly damaged stock. Zeller could have entered last year's draft and probably would have been a Top 10 pick if he had. As a sophomore, scouts picked Zeller's game apart, and he was criticized for being too passive and not showing enough strength in the paint. The physical measurements, though, show what Zeller is capable of doing.

Though many mock drafts have Zeller outside the Top 10, that's a stretch. Zeller will get consideration as the No. 1 overall pick, and, depending on how the lottery plays out, should land at least in the top seven. If he keeps having workouts like he did in Chicago, a team will be eager to take him.

"I have a lot of God-given ability with my strength and quickness and speed," Zeller said. "That's always been one of my selling points."

TURNING OVER MAPLE LEAFS

So what's gotten into our neighbors to the north, who have been developing a pipeline of big-time hoops players? In this draft, Canadians Kelly Olynyk and Anthony Bennett have a good shot at being drafted in the lottery, and point guard Myck Kabongo has a chance to be a first-rounder.

This comes as Andrew Wiggins, possibly next year's No. 1 pick, heads to Kansas and two years after Tristan Thompson was chosen with the fourth pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Olynyk gave credit to Los Angeles Lakers point guard Steve Nash, the guy who put Canadian basketball on the map.

"Nash has really paved a path for Canadians and make you realize it is possible, your dreams and ambitions and hopes in the basketball world," Olynyk said. "I think what you're seeing is a lot of talent is being recognized a lot more. There was talent there before but sometimes it wasn't recognized and respected as much. I think that's great for the game of basketball and it's great for Canada."

The rise of a generation of good young players in Canada is reminiscent of what happened with Argentina's Golden Generation, led by Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola. The Canadian national team, which is overseen by Nash, is on track to become a force on the international stage.

"It's on the rise," Olynyk said. "It's doing real well. We also have guys like Cory Joseph, Kris Joseph, Andrew Nicholson. There is a plethora of guys coming, and I think we're doing a great job — Steve Nash and Canada basketball are doing a great job of getting people excited and really wanting to play for their country, having that pride and wanting to have that name across your chest, going to battle for your country. In the near future, the sky is the limit for our team."

AGENT MOM

Kentucky forward Nerlens Noel, possibly this draft's No. 1 pick, is a rarity in that he hasn't yet hired an agent, something most prospects did last month. "It's really me and my mom and a couple of my guys," Noel told me. "They're helping me set it up and everything. I am looking to meet with a few agents next week and wrap it up pretty soon."

GATEWAY ARCHIE

Noel's teammate, shooting guard Archie Goodwin, had a disappointing season, both individually and with his team, which failed to make the NCAA tournament and lost in the first round of the NIT.

Goodwin said he believes he can be a lottery pick with good workouts, though that remains a long shot. Still, he said he has no regrets about his decision.

"I talked with my family and my coaching staff about it and I just felt more comfortable coming out," Goodwin said. "I got the confidence that I know what I am capable of, so, me leaving would just — I know what I need to do to get better, so why not do it on the next level?"

But I pointed out to Goodwin that his coaches actually told him that he should return to school.

"They wanted me to stay just because of how bad the season was and we had something else we need to prove," he said. "But at the same time, I wanted to do what's best for myself as well. It was just something that I felt like, why wait?"